


Sirius Goes to the Vet

by Cait_Sidhe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Animagus, Dogs, Gen, Needles, Sick Character, Sickfic, Veterinary Clinic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 17:31:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16351070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cait_Sidhe/pseuds/Cait_Sidhe
Summary: Sirius is sick! But he can't go to a healer or muggle doctor without getting arrested, so he decides to ignore it-- until Remus comes up with a clever solution: the vet.





	Sirius Goes to the Vet

“Moony... for the last time... I’m fine... Just a bit tired...”

“‘A bit tired’? You’re out of breath after just going down the stairs! Again!”

“Well, it’s a lot of stairs.” Sirius Black coughed roughly.

“Which you climb every day,” Remus Remus pointed out. “Plus, there’s that cough! I think you’re coming down with something.”

“It’s probably just a cold or something. I’ll take some pepper-up potion, that generally helps.”

But, it didn’t help; the next day, Sirius again got winded going down the stairs, coughing violently to the point of nearly collapsing.

“Padfoot!” Remus called, running over to hold Sirius up. 

“I’m… fine…” Sirius panted as he caught his breath. “I just need some rest, that’s all.”

Remus shook his head. “Sirius. Don’t make light of this.”

“Come on, Remus, no need to worry. Probably just a sign I’m getting old,” Sirius laughed.

“Thirty-six is not old. Come on, I made lunch; some others stopped by to brief us on things.”

The two headed into the kitchen of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, where they both lived. It was late Spring, and bright sunlight shone through the windows. Sirius sat down at the end of the large table. Also at the table were Hestia Jones, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Alastor “Mad-eye” Moody.

Sirius wasn’t paying much attention as the three and Remus talked. He picked at his sandwich as he tried to follow along, hearing only bits and pieces of the conversation. There would be an Order meeting the following week, more Ministry restrictions were being put on werewolves again, Hestia’s garden was doing well, Mad-eye was convinced someone tried to poison him for the thousandth time, there were more Educational Degrees… Sirius thought about Harry, his godson, trapped at Hogwarts with that awful Umbridge woman; he hoped Harry was managing okay, as he seemed to be really struggling with his emotions last they talked, which was quite a while ago… 

“Well? What do you think of that?” Kingsley asked with a chuckle, looking at Sirius. “Sirius?”

Sirius snapped to attention. “What? Sorry, guess I zoned out a bit,” he admitted sheepishly. “What were you saying?”

“Well, according to our latest tip, Sirius Black has been spotted in the wildcat exhibit at a zoo in Northern Ireland. Aurors are headed to investigate now.”

Sirius’s laugh turned into a fit of painful coughing.

“Oh my!” Hestia exclaimed. “Are you alright, Sirius? Should I pick up a potion for you? I actually might have some pepper-up in my bag…” Hestia began digging through her small purse, which undoubtedly had extension charms on it.

“No, it’s okay,” Sirius insisted. “I already tried one of those. I’ll be fine.”

“Padfoot. You need to see a Healer,” Remus asserted. “Not only are you coughing, but you haven’t even eaten a bite of lunch, and usually you wolf it down!”

“What? Moony, you know we can’t do that; the instant we step into St. Mungo’s, I’ll be arrested, and you as well for being with me.” Sirius finished his complaint by coughing violently again.

“Then we’ll go to a Muggle one.”

“That won’t work either,” Mad-eye interrupted. “The whole Muggle world knows about him too.”

Remus frowned. “But we have to do something…”

“Moony, I’ll be fine,” Sirius insisted again. “Watch, it’ll be gone by tomorrow.”

But it wasn’t gone the next day; in fact, it was worse. Sirius awoke feeling achy all over, needing to lean on the railing as he slowly descended the stairs, pausing to cough. Remus quickly showed up to help, though he had to try coaxing the stubborn Sirius to accept the help.

“I had an idea,” Remus told Sirius once they were again seated at the kitchen table. “We can take you to a vet!”

Sirius looked at him skeptically. “A vet?”

“Yes, you can go in dog form, and they’ll find out what’s wrong.”

“Moony, have you had a pet before?”

“No, why?”

“Well, the vets always check first to make sure it’s not a human that was transfigured into an animal. I knew a kid that took his new pet cat to the vet only to discover it was his missing grandfather, who had a failing memory and thus forgot he had been human right after achieving his animagus form.” Sirius was breathing rather hard after that long explanation.

Remus laughed. “I see. Well, luckily muggles don’t check if their pets are human. So the muggle vet won’t realize you’re anything but a big shaggy black dog.”

 

*******

 

As Remus, dressed in a simple muggle outfit of jeans and a t-shirt, and Sirius, in his guise of a big shaggy black dog, walked into the animal clinic, a little bell rang. In the waiting room there were two people with carriers, presumably with cats inside, and a girl with a small rabbit, nervously eyeing the snake the boy sitting next to her had, though they were both in cages. They strode over to the desk, where a desk clerk was reading a dense book.

The clerk bookmarked his place and looked up to address them. “Hello. Haven’t seen you around before; is this your first time here?”

“Yes, it is,” Remus acknowledged. “Is there paperwork to fill out?”

“Yes. Are you here for grooming, a check-up, shots, or an illness?”

“An illness, we think. Padfoot here has been--”

Padfoot let out a few wheezing barks in response.

“Yes, coughing like that. He seems very winded lately.”

“Okay. Well, here’s the paperwork, please fill it out first. Please make sure he avoids contact with the other animals as to prevent possible spread of infection. Also, it’s policy to have all animals in a carrier or on a leash.”

“A leash? Er, I don’t--”

“That’s perfectly okay; we have some here you can borrow, as well as a collar to attach it to. I’d recommend you get his own collar and tag, in case he gets lost; you can get one at the pet store down the street. We also now offer microchip services right here; I’ll give you a pamphlet with information. It’s a relatively new technology, but I guarantee in ten years it’ll be routine. They guarantee you’ll be able to find your pet if lost, as they can’t fall off like collars can.”

“Er, okay, I’ll look into it,” Remus lied, taking the papers and clipboard and heading to a seat in the far corner, away from the other people.

Padfoot whined in disgruntlement as Remus attached the collar and leash.

“Oh, don’t give me that,” Remus whispered, petting the dog behind the ears to calm him. Padfoot lay down at his feet.

Remus began filling out the form with slight difficulty. He did luckily have a post box and phone, as he had started looking into muggle jobs before the Order had re-formed (muggles were less adverse to hiring werewolves, as they didn’t know such existed), but he had to make up some of the information about Sirius-- after all, dogs typically don’t live until thirty-six. 

Shortly after turning the form over to the clerk, a woman with a little poodle in her purse left, and Remus was called in with Padfoot. Some of the other animals were still waiting-- Remus asked why, and was informed they had a separate vet that handled dogs. Sirius happily barked at the vet, who introduced himself as Dr. Ryan Bones (“But please, call me Ryan”), as he received a dog biscuit. Remus chuckled; Sirius would be embarrassed about that later.

“So, Padfoot here is having breathing problems?” Dr. Ryan asked, as he examined the form.

Remus nodded. “Yes, he’s been getting very winded after going up and down the stairs, and has been less energetic. He’s also been coughing a lot”-- Sirius again conveniently coughed to provide an example-- “and hasn’t been eating as much as usual. Though apparently he still has an appetite for biscuits.” Remus smiled at Padfoot.

“Woof!” Padfoot barked, clearly begging for another.

“Oh, you understood that, did you?” Dr Ryan spoke to Padfoot in that voice people tend to reserve only for dogs. “Well, we need to run some tests first, but if you’re a good boy then you can have another, how about that?”

Padfoot whined, but cooperated as Dr Ryan did things like weigh him, check his heart-rate, look into his mouth, peer into his ears, and other such routine things. While he did so, he talked to Remus.

“I see you haven’t taken Padfoot to a vet before? That’s unusual, given his age.” 

“Well, no,” Remus supplied. How could he explain it? “He’s… never really needed one before.”

Dr Ryan frowned. “Well, he really should be going for routine checkups, especially as he’s already nine. I also notice he’s not fixed; you might want to get that done, too.”

Padfoot snapped at the vet and squirmed in protest, causing him to have to redo checking his legs for proper movement. Remus told the vet that the dog would not be getting fixed ever.

“Well, it’s your choice, but it is highly recommended… hmmm. I also see you’ve marked that he hasn’t had vaccines. Now, that is something I really must insist you get done soon-- some canine illnesses can be deadly, but are entirely preventable. At minimum he should have rabies and DHPP shots every three years. They’re not legally required in the UK right now, but they are in a lot of nearby countries, so you won’t be able to vacation with Padfoot without them. I can give him them today.”

Remus looked at Padfoot, pretending to consider it. The dog glared at Remus, as if he were daring him to try.

“Er, not today, but I’ll think about it.”

“Well, if you’re sure.” Dr Ryan stood up. “Though again, I really do recommend it. Well, I’m done with the physical exam, but I’ll need to do some bloodwork… do you think he can remain calm enough for that? He’s been very well-behaved, but a lot of animals do freak out when drawing blood, though it’s usually do to being held down for it, rather than the actual drawing.”

“Yes, he’ll be fine. Right, Padfoot?” Remus asked calmly.

Padfoot let out a whimper, but nodded that he understood as the vet left for a moment.

Dr Ryan returned with an assistant, clippers, disinfecting supplies, and a large needle. “I’ll have to trim his fur a bit to reach the vein; we use the one in the neck as it’s fastest. Maria here will help hold him in the proper position. It’d be best if you let him see you and pet him while we do it.”

As he was held down, Padfoot struggled slightly, but at a glare from Remus sat still as the vet drew the blood.

“That may have been the easiest I’ve been able to draw blood from an animal,” Dr Ryan said with amazement as he finished. “Padfoot is very well behaved; definitely deserving of another treat!”

Padfoot wagged his tail eagerly as the vet brought him another biscuit. Remus smiled mischievously. Sirius was definitely going to get teased about that; maybe he’d even get a box of them as a present.

“It’ll be about twenty minutes to do the bloodwork. There’s some magazines, as well as those vaccination pamphlets, if you want to read them while waiting.”

Remus didn’t read the pamphlets or the magazines; as soon as the vet left, Padfoot returned to Sirius. He rubbed his neck.

“Ugh, that was horrible! Why do they need to stick a needle in like that? Don’t they have any numbing things?”

Remus smiled gently. “They’re muggles, remember? Pretty sure their version of numbing requires being fully sedated, not just a little dab of a potion in the spot.”

Sirius cringed. “That’s even worse… and what’s with the guy saying I need all those shots?”

“Well, he thinks you’re a real dog, and real muggle dogs do really need those things. Their puppies don’t get one-time prevention potions. Neither do they, for that matter; muggles themselves need lots of shots too.”

Sirius shook his head in wonder. “Wow. I’m so glad we’re wizards… not that it helps much right now, mind,” he grumbled.

When the vet finally returned (Sirius had changed into Padfoot a while before, to nap at Remus's feet while he read a book he brought), he had a look indicating he had definitely found something.

“Well, it’s not good news, but not the worst news, either,” Dr Ryan told them. “Padfoot here has heartworms.”

“Heartworms?”

“Yes. It’s one of the more common conditions dogs can get. Luckily it’s treatable in all but the most severe cases. We’ll need to do some x-rays to see the extent of it, but the symptoms indicate it’s most likely a moderate infection. It’ll require a regiment of medicine followed by some injections, and then a follow-up six months later to be sure they’re gone. He’ll also need lots of rest-- too much exercise can exacerbate the situation, especially as the worms start to break up during treatment. That’s probably going to be the toughest part of it.”

“I see… what happens if a human contracts it? Is it similar?”

“No need to worry; only canines get it, and sometimes cats, though the worms typically don’t survive when in cats. It’s transmitted by mosquito, so you don’t need to worry about Padfoot passing it on to other dogs.”

“I don’t think that’s a problem either way,” Remus said, but Dr Ryan ignored this.

“I’d also recommend afterwards giving him prevention medication regularly, to reduce the chances of getting them again.”

Remus nodded. “I understand.” He didn’t know how Sirius would take that, but he didn’t want to see his friend like this again. And what if it had progressed more? It could have easily done so if Remus hadn’t been there to force Sirius to see someone!

Dr Ryan then led Sirius to get his x-rays. Remus couldn’t go in with them; he hoped Sirius would remain calm. Theoretically he had enough control over the dog’s mind-- except, apparently, when it came to dog biscuits. Remus smiled mischievously. Yes, Sirius was going to get a whole bag of them for Christmas.

Dr. Ryan and Sirius returned them. “Well, you’re extremely lucky you bright him here when you did; the infestation was getting rather bad, but luckily still is in a treatable stage. I’ll prescribe you the medicines, and then in two months you’ll need to return for the shot. As I said before, I highly recommend getting vaccines-- you’re lucky that of all the preventable things he could get, it was only this.”

Remus bit his lip, thinking about it briefly. “You said you can administer them here?”

“Yes, right now if you’d like.”

“Okay, we’ll get as many as possible.”

Dr Ryan smiled. “I’m glad you’ve chosen to. Other than the worms, Padfoot seems to be in very-good condition; best not to put that in jeopardy. I’ll return in a moment with them.”

As Dr Ryan left, Padfoot again changed back to Sirius.

“What the hell, Remus?” he angrily whispered, so no one would hear there was a second person in the room. “Vaccines? Why in the world would you okay that? I’m a human, not a dog! I had my preventive potions as a kid; I don’t need stuff for dogs as well!”

Remus glared at Sirius. “Did you not hear the vet? Heartworms is a canine-only disease. If you can get that, you can get other ones. You ARE getting vaccinated, and that’s final!”

 

*******

 

“Er. Are you okay?” Tonks asked, in reference to Sirius having his head on the table. Remus had run into Tonks and Mad-eye while grocery shopping with Kingsley (the Order members had taken to shopping in pairs for safety), and invited them over to dinner.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a bit tired. I just finished tending to Buckbeak’s wing, he seems to have sprained it somehow.”

“Sprained it? Now how would he do that? You wouldn’t have let him out by any chance, would you?” Mad-eye asked, glaring at Sirius with clear suspicion.

“Of course not!” Sirius said, irritated. “He gets anxious about being cooped up, probably was flapping around too much while we were out yesterday.”

“YOU went out? Sirius! You know you shouldn’t be leaving the house!” Kingsley scolded. “You’re a wanted man!”

“I know that! It wasn’t as though I had a choice! Believe me, it was the last thing I wanted to do.”

“Why wouldn’t you have a choice?” Tonks wondered.

“I took him to the vet,” Remus replied, trying not to snicker. “Sirius was not very happy about that.” 

Sirius glared at him. “Oh, sure, tell everybody.”

“The vet?” Tonks laughed. “Really? You’re joking.”

“Nope, no joke,” Remus explained. “He was sick, and we couldn’t go to a human doctor, so the vet was the only option.”

Mad-eye looked at Remus skeptically. “The vet, you say? Must have gotten very lucky, then, that this ‘vet’ didn’t use any human-revealing spells.”

“Well, it was a muggle vet… look, it was the only option, okay? He was really sick, and it’s not like we could take him to see a healer, wizard or muggle.”

Kingsley nodded, then turned with a chuckle to Sirius. “So, you went to a muggle vet? How was it?”

“Horrible,” Sirius replied. “I never want to go back.”

Tonks raised her eyebrow. “Come on, it couldn’t have been that awful.”

“You have no idea… there were so. many. needles.” Sirius muttered, with a shudder.

“Needles?”

“Moony made me get shots…”

The three visitors now looked very puzzled.

“Now why would you do that?” Tonks asked Remus.

“What are you talking about?” Kingsley asked them. As a pure-blood, he wasn’t familiar with muggle medicine.

“I’ve heard of ‘em,” Mad-eye growled. “Torture, it is. They stick you with needles to inject potions right into yer blood.”

“They call it medicine,” Tonks corrected. “Or vaccines, which are like preventative potions.”

Kingsley made a face of disgust. “That sounds horrible. So glad I’m a wizard.”

“Oh, they’re not so bad,” said Tonks. “I had to get many vaccines as a kid-- I went to a muggle school before Hogwarts, and they made us all get them. They’re actually highly effective, if you keep up with them.”

“But Sirius must have gotten the medicine, not vaccines,” Kingsley reasoned. He turned to Sirius. “So you did have something after all?”

Sirius grumbled something incomprehensible.

“Has something,” Remus corrected. “Muggle drugs don’t get rid of things immediately. In fact, Sirius, you need to take your medicine now.”

Sirius huffed as he grabbed the bottle from Remus. “Do I really need to be in dog form for it?” he complained.

“Well, better safe than sorry,” Remus said calmly. 

“Hold on,” Kingsley interrupted. “Why don’t I get you the potion for whatever it is. You can reimburse me.”

Remus answered, as Sirius had become a dog and was making a dramatic display as he swallowed the pills. “I already looked into it. It seems there are no potions that will work; all there is is the prevention potion, which is useless if you have it already. Seems that since the preventive potion works a hundred percent, no one ever worked on a cure.”

Kingsley now looked very confused. “But you should have had all your prevention potions as a kid? Surely your parents insisted upon that?”

“I did take them as a kid,” Sirius replied, starting to blush in embarrassment.

“Then why…?”

“Because… well…”

“It’s a dog thing,” Remus answered for Sirius, trying not to laugh. “Apparently animagii are susceptible to the diseases of their animal form. So he needed all the vaccines for them. We figured he might as well get them while we were there.”

“No, YOU figured! You didn’t give me a choice!” Sirius protested.

Remus looked at Sirius seriously. “Look, the vet said you were lucky that of all the preventable things you could get that it was this. Other things aren’t this treatable.”

“Er. Should we go?” Tonks asked apprehensively, sensing a potential argument.

Sirius sighed. “No, it’s fine. I shouldn’t get worked up over this. Or apparently over anything until I’m cured. I know you were only concerned about my health, Moony…”

“So you’ll cooperate? Because some of those shots do require multiple visits…”

Sirius scrunched his face up with annoyance and let out a small dog-like growl. “I’m not happy about that, but yes, I’ll behave…”

Remus smiled teasingly. “Good dog,” he said, giving Sirius a pat on the head, earning him a playful slap from Sirius and a laugh from the others.

A soft bell in the foyer indicated the door had just been opened. “Hello? Anyone here?” a very recognizable voice called.

“Ugh, why is he here?” Sirius complained.

“We’re in the kitchen!” Kingsley called in his booming voice, and a moment later Snape entered, a very grim look on his face. Everyone in the kitchen froze; that was a look that could only bring bad news.

“I will get straight to the point,” Snape began, looking at Sirius. “Potter seems to think that the Dark Lord is holding you in the prophecy room.”

“What?” Sirius looked puzzled. “But I’m right here.”

“Clearly. Obviously the Dark Lord has finally managed to send Potter false visions.”

“Finally?! What, were you wishing for that?” Sirius spat, leaping to his feet.

“Hardly. Though I am surprised it took this long considering your godson has the occlumency skills of a troll.”

“Don’t you dare talk about Harry like that!” Sirius snarled.

“Hold on,” Remus interrupted, putting his hand up. “Is Harry safe? He hasn’t tried to do anything about it, has he?”

“Ah, yes, I was getting to that before the dog started barking,” Snape drawled, unbothered by Sirius’s glare. “It seems Potter has taken it upon himself to lead a rescue mission with a band of his equally idiotic friends.”

“WHAT?” Sirius yelped. He began to move towards the door, but Remus jumped up and grabbed his arm to hold him back.

“Think about what you’re doing!” Remus told him. “You can’t just go running in; it’s at the Ministry, for Merlin’s sake! We’ll go.”

Sirius struggled some more. “No! I need to help! He’s my godson!”

“No,” Remus insisted, staring at Sirius, an unrelenting look in his eye. Sirius glared back.

A bright object flew past. “I’ve sent a patronus message to Dumbledore,” Kingley told them. He, Tonks, and Mad-eye were all standing now, getting ready to go. “He’ll be arriving here when he gets it. Sirius, we need you wait here for Dumbledore to tell him what’s happened. Can you do that?” His tone showed that it was an order, not a request.

“Fine,” Sirius pouted, pulling away from Remus's grip and crossing his arms. 

Remus pulled Sirius into a one-armed hug. “Good dog,” he whispered in his ear, with a small smile, causing Sirius to smile slightly too.

With that, everyone but Sirius left Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.

Sirius waited two full minutes for Dumbledore before he couldn’t bear it. “Screw this,” he muttered, heading towards the door. “I’m going to help, too. KREATURE!”


End file.
